New reports of Britons missing flights due to EES delays

More Britons travelling to the EU have seen travel plans disrupted due to delays linked to the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES). 

Queues of several hours were recorded in Tenerife, Spain, as a major influx of tourists heading to the island for Easter holidays is expected. 

There are concerns that the full rollout of EES on April 10, at the end of UK Easter school holidays, will further exacerbate queues.

Passengers on social media have complained about the situation. 

“We were in the passport control queue for three hours! Our Ryanair flight left with 15 passengers on and left the rest of us here in Tenerife,” said one passenger.

“Massive queues, one man checking families and special assistance… everyone has to do face recognition and fingerprints,” said another, referencing some of the new EES regulations.

Others however said it took them around 45 minutes to pass through security at the airport.

It follows a Ryanair flight in Tours (Indre-et-Loire) departing with 24 passengers missing due to queues relating to the EES. 

The airline has stated that EES delays are outside of their control.

Concerns remain over planned rollout

Tenerife’s airport is thought to have some 36 EES machines to help passengers register with the digital border system, however reportedly not all of them are in use and many passengers still need to register via physical border officers.

Average registration times at the airport are around four minutes, with process times set to reduce to around 40 seconds for passengers who have already been registered in the system.

There are serious concerns in countries across the EU – including France – that delays are imminent.

Earlier this year, industry leaders warned of queues up to four hours at several borderpoints due to EES regulations this summer.

The group representing Paris’ Charles-de-Gaulle and Orly airports has backed a suspension or delay of EES regulations this summer to help deal with expected crowds.

Plans for the rollout allow for temporary suspension of EES registration due to technical difficulties or ‘exceptional circumstances’ such as queues.

Registration can be paused for a maximum of six hours at a time at border entry points until July 2026. 

This may be extended until September 2026 if less than 80% of arrivals are registered in the system between April and July.

Conflict in the Middle East is expected to change spring and summer travel plans for many Britons, who are already opting to visit countries deemed ‘safer’ – such as Spain and Portugal – as opposed to Cyprus and Egypt. 

Portugal became the second country to use the EES Travel to Europe app at certain airports after Sweden, however so far it does not allow for travellers to scan their passports, just to answer questions about their travel plans in advance.